So, I haven't really played any single player games in the last 3 or 4 years.

I used to love single player games, as a good story is something i've always enjoyed. Mass Effect 1 was one of the best games i've ever played, 2 and 3 were decent as well.

But 3 or 4 years ago I got into the modern military shooter genre, Modern Warfare was a decent game, so was Crysis. However, the next few games like Medal of Honor, and Black Ops and Crysis 2 just killed any enthusiasm for first/third person games. I ended up played WoW, SC2, and now Dota 2.

Don't get me wrong, those games are fun, but it's a different experience to something like The Last of Us. The game I just finished. I loved that game so much, that it's basically reignited my enthusiasm for these types of games, and I'm after the best of the last few years that i've missed out on.

I have a PC, it's very good. I will be able to run any new games without a problem. I've done a little bit of research, and I'm thinking Bioshock Infinite is a good place to start. I haven't played 1 or 2, but apparently thats not really an issue according to what i've read. Tomb Raider is next on my list after that. As well as Bioshock 1 and 2.

Anyway, yeah, so what are your guys recommendations? My main concern is the story/plot etc, but good gameplay is very much appreciated as well. Oh I've also played Skyrim. I'm also part way through Far Cry 3, but I got bored of the open world part. I think I should just focus on finishing off the story missions, because those are actually really really good.

 

If you like RPG, The Witcher 1 and 2 is amazing. Specs Ops: Line is a good story driven shooter and so is Max Payne 3. The new Far Cry is also good. The Walking Dead game is supposed to be excellent.

Bioshock Infinite is indeed awesome but Bioshock 1 is one the best games I played. Play that too.

 

Red Dead Redemption. The first Dragon Age. Fable. Mass Effect. Borderlands, kind of. Maybe Rage. Bulletstorm, while a gory FPS, does have some cool characters and nice background plot.

 

Bulletstorm was fucking awesome. I loved that game. Over the top in a good way.

I found Dragon Age to be really really slow and annoying when I first played it, but I might give it another go, as I have heard decent things.

Hated Borderlands. I honestly find shooters to be really boring, walking around, moving the mouse and clicking just gets old after a while. There's not much variation.

The Witcher 2 was something I started, but didn't really even get into it at all. I was going to start with 2, but is it worth playing the first?

 

Yes, it's definitely worth playing 1 first. The two are directly linked to eachother, and if you haven't played the first, you'll miss all sorts of things in the second.

Even standalone, The Witcher 1 is a great game. It's even better considering the design studio is one of the most honorable and respectable out right now.

 

Kotor 2 with TSLRCM + M4-78 mod if you like star wars. HK-47 is hilarious.

I also like The Bard's Tale fun game all around.

 

Vampire the Masquerade: Bloodlines, if you haven't played it.

It's a somewhat old (2004 release) adventure/RPG but it remains my most memorable gaming experience to date. The atmosphere especially was masterfully developed; a scenery of urban decay, pierced by sudden clashes of horror/violence/mystery. I still dream about it sometimes.

If you do get it, make sure to add the latest unofficial patch. It fixes a ton of bugs.

 

You may want to give Spec Ops: The Line a glance. It presents itself as a standard modern shooter, and the gameplay is average, but the story develops in unexpected ways.

 

as a pretty anti shooter person? this is on my list because the story is fucking awesome and it apparently helps re examine the genre, something which sounds really nice.

 

That more than anything convinced me to give it a try Rents.

 

Played Bioshock Infinite recently. Intriguing story with fun combat. I'd recommend focusing on vigors, as that was the most fun part.

Knights of the Old Republic and KOTOR2 are my favorite games. Old, but still awesome. Maybe Deus Ex: Human Revolution is. DEHR is an awesome game all around with a super stealth/combat system, awesome story, and amazing graphics.

Tomb Raider is aight. Fun combat and interesting mystery, but it didn't really pull me in.

Dishonored is a Bioshock-y game, since you'll probably want more after Infinite.

Fallout 3 is a masterpiece that I still can't get enough of.

 

The first and second Fallout games are masterpices.

I would recommend games made in RPGMaker. To the Moon, Quintesence, Ib, Mad Father, Misao and Witch's House. Every single one of them is free, except To the Moon that costs $9.99 on GOG.com

 

+1 on Bioshock Infinite.

I usually struggle to maintain interest in games and it's usually because the storyline segments are too spaced out. Either that, or if they're too sandboxy and have too many side quests, they lose the momentum of the storyline (eg, Deus Ex Human Revolution).

I felt Bioshock Infinite maintained dialogue and storyline pretty consistently through the whole story. The storyline was the focus, and the gameplay was just the medium to tell it. It was quite linear so didn't have the problem sandbox type games have. Story was hard to predict and keeps you interested, you feel a strong connection to the two main characters and the gameplay is still fun.

 

This game is a lot older.

But has a great story as long as you believe in immersion. (helpful picture/text Let's Play linked)

 

I'd recommend the Darksiders games. Entertaining combat and a fairly interesting world.

 

If Fallout 3 has any positive attributes, none of them are story related. Actually I'd say the only good thing about FO3 that New Vegas didn't do better is the atmosphere and exploration, but even then the atmosphere makes no sense because 200 years after the bombs fell there would be far more progress in rebuilding than the game presents. Generally very little about FO3's setting makes much sense, at least for the given date.

On Fallout, play New Vegas and FO1 for a good story. FO1's story is relatively simple, but satisfying, while New Vegas has a lot more content and can get fairly complex. Fallout 2... well, okay, it's definitely an improvement gameplay-wise over FO1, and the Enclave is cool, but there's way too much wacky and stupid stuff going on that gets in the way. It's like if the Wild Wasteland trait in New Vegas were always on and ramped up to eleven. I say play it to understand more of what's going on in New Vegas, and hell you might like what makes me dislike it, but of the four Fallout games it ranks third in my book (with FO3 in last -- Tactics and that Brotherhood of Steel game I don't count).

I'll also second the nominations of Spec Ops: The Line (short but very interesting, if depressing), Red Dead Redemption, Bioshock (all three) and Knights of the Old Republic (particularly KotOR II in terms of story, but the first one is a fun romp). I'll hesitantly back Deus Ex also, though I'm really not a fan of the themes the games present (and for some reason opposing a cybernetic revolution in those games is always the bad ending -- yeah, not biased at all).

 

I second Dragon Age, both have entertaining stories where your party has some influence.

Kotor (1 and 2) are the classics but they still match pretty much anything that comes out today and even the graphic is ok.

Dishonored is also quite good and has some nice gameplay but it is a bit too easy.

But my favorite is the Witcher, both games really manage to tell an intriguing and believable story set in a great world. And if you read the books beforehand, (I think the first 3-4 are out in English and the rest have good fan translations), the game makes even more fun because they really manged to capture the tone and style.
The first starts a bit slow and has some clunky controls but its gets better and is really worth playing.

Planetscape: Torment also deserves to be mentioned... It is old but really great storytelling. (and thx Kickstarter a second is underway)

 

Rothfuss is writing either a character or a section of plot... I'm very excited.

 

Most of mine are already on the list, but I'm having a ball with Far Cry 3 at the moment too. The story is fairly linear, but the narrative is well developed and it's a hell of a lot of fun. I'll second the Walking Dead games as an excellent exercise in storytelling. System Shock 2 is another older game that is still pretty engaging.

 

Final Fantasy X is an amazing game that's story-driven. It still has a ton of possible sidequests though. One of my favorite games of all time.